


Scream At The False Light

by imjohnlocked



Series: Scream at the False Light [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Dark, Creepy Sherlock, Johnlock - Freeform, Johnlock merlock, Little John - Freeform, M/M, Merlock, Mermaids, Octo!John - Freeform, Sheriarty - Freeform, Sherlock AU, Sherlock Is A Bit Not Good, TAGSSSS, Tentacle Sex, Tentacle sex in other chapters, Tentacles I guess but no sex yet no no, johniarty, johnlock au, maybe I dont know it depends but I know Jim and Seb will be in so there nyah, mormor, octopi, yeah john is pretty little at the start Idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-02-19 16:11:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2394680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imjohnlocked/pseuds/imjohnlocked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Watson lives in a world he knows nothing about. Being half octopus and half human, he finds that life gets a bit..hard, for him, when a certain mermaid captures him. What starts out as a simple friendship, quickly spirals out of control as his new friend finds out secrets of John's kind. Will they be able to break through their differences? How will John save himself from the clutches of these creatures, that all seem to either want him for his exotic body, or want him on their dinner plate? Will he be able to learn about his almost extinct species, or will it be too late for the little octopus?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blue.

**Author's Note:**

> \----------------------------------------------  
> ~WIP~  
> So, yeah.. I havnt written in a long time, I used to write other stuff, but never full blown fics.. A friend requested some cute merlock/octo john and then some dark stuff.. so what the hell. Why not? I'm a bit rusty, so go easy on me. Just know that there might be so sex~  
> \----------------------------------------------

The ocean was one of the most unknown and exotic places in planet earth, with less than 20% of it completely found out, humans knew very little about it.. infact, they knew more about the moon than the ocean. This would explain why something like the life of John Watson was possible. Born 20 years ago, the tiny hybrid was still considered a teen, or a child in the eyes of his kind, as he was only about a couple inches tall. Most of his kind, which were octopi hybrids, could reach sizes of almost 20 feet long if they lived long enough.. but it was rare for that to ever happen since they were so curious. Many of the octopi died at a young age after being hunted down, or caught by other hybrids and taken in as pets, only to be killed once they got too big to be considered cute. 

Since John was still a child, he was unaware of any dangers that had been lurking in the darkness of the ocean. Somehow, by the grace of luck and perhaps an ocean god, if one would believe in it, John had been spared from the killing of his clan back when he was first just an egg, which had rolled off the rocks, and floated down onto an abandoned shipwreck, where he was hidden from all sight till he was born. The murderer of his family was at the hands of none other than a shark hybrid, a merman like creature, but with the bottom of a shark, complete with tail and senses of one. The shark had teamed up with an unlikely partner, also another shark, except this time it was a tiger shark. It was already rare that hybrids of a different branch would work together, especially the aggressive species of the sharks, and yet, they did, and as a result, they were able to wipe out John's whole family. But because John was spared, he had never learned what was danger and what wasn't, it was a blessing that he lived so many years already.. but perhaps the blessing was but a curse in disguise. 

The day had started out as normal for the little hybrid known as John Watson, who was happily waking up in the middle of a bed of seaweed that was hidden from all. The gleaming sunlight of the morning beamed down onto his small body, warming his blue tentacles up as he squirmed and let out little bubbled yawns. Stretching, John began his daily routine.   
He lived a very simple life, as he had never migrated away from where he was born at the bottom of a ruined shipwreck. His schedule con sited of the following: Wake up, groom each of his eight light sapphire tentacles, go out, and feed on the algae and grime that had gathered on the ship for years. Every so often, he would grow adventurous, exploring in the bones and skulls of humans that had drowned many years ago, his innocence in tact, as he had no idea the odd looking ''stones'' were. Little did he know that what he was eating off of said 'stones' was the decaying flesh of humans that had lost their lives to Poseidon's wrath. But, other than those small adventures he rarely went on..Nothing ever new happened to John, despite his efforts of trying to make friends with guppies that passed past, or crabs that would snip and snap their claws at him.   
The ocean was vast, and, having lived in a ship all of his life, John had barely even seen any of the things that were around him. There would come a time, John knew that he would have to leave his ship, to go and find a female to mate with, to have children with.. He wasnt sure how he knew, but he could just feel it in his blood.. if that made any sense. He wasnt sure and he didnt think he cared right now. He was still a child, he wouldnt have to worry about that kind of stuff for a long while. So for now, John would resume his boring, ordinary life, repeating the same things over and over again..and he was content with that. He was calm, collected, and, for the most part, happy. 

So, it came to a surprise to the little hybrid when he was forced with the idea of change for the first time in his life. 

The octopi was out and about, collecting pebbles and shells he found to be pretty so he could bring them back to his den. And today, he even found a rare piece of sea glass, which he always marveled at, since it seemed so..unnatural. As if they were just dumped in the ocean without a care. They were so different from the shells and pebbles he saw, John wondered why they were here.. But, before he could even start to think about what would cause them, his attention turned when he suddenly saw a bright, blinking light up ahead. John had never seen such a magical thing.. and it was tinted an odd blue color. Intrigued by it, the small octipi made his way over to the light, swimming slowly and cautiously. Reaching out, he grazed his fingers over the light, watching it blink a couple of times, causing him to laugh and gurgle out in excitement, bubbles floating into the empty abyss of ocean above him. What an amazing discovery it was, a new trinket he could bring home, and now he wouldnt be scared when he was alone in the dark of night, when low rumbles came from the earth, and the smell of blood tainted the water. 

Carefully, he wrapped his tiny fingers around the ball of glowing light, which illuminated perfectly against his skin, before he began to pull. But, as he did, he felt it tug back.. Was it alive? Perhaps it was an egg! Even more excited by his discovery and the possibility that maybe John would finally gain a friend, the hybrid tugged on the ball of light again with a laugh, feeling it tug back twice as hard. Taking his hands back, John rubbed them together, getting as much purchase as he could on the ball, wrapping a tentacle around it and pulling, yanking, feeling it pull towards him, until he felt a heard an audible 'snap' and the light was pulled from his hands in a force unlike none other. "H-hey!" He called out as a darkness swallowed him, sealing him in a cage of which confusion and fear arose. 

Blinking in confusion, John began to swim around in the darkness, every now and then bumping into a squishy surface, hands and tentacles going up and touching whatever was around him. He could feel grooves in the squishy surface, and tried his best to squeeze his tentacles through to pry himself free, but as he did, he felt the gelatinous surface press back, as if forcing him away from the wall. The ball was gone, sadly, and he couldnt even see. What had happened? Perhaps Was it all a dream? A noise from the outside of the populous walls confirmed that no, it was not. Infact, what he heard sounded strangely like the muffled sound of..laughter.


	2. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panic ensues, as John realizes just how much trouble he could be in. And we learn about who, infact, had taken him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait guys! I had school come up suddenly, and I really needed to study for a while. I promise the next chapter we will see them finally learn who they are, and what the fate of our little John is.

At first, the small octopi had tried to calm himself in the darkness, thinking that, maybe, just maybe, a piece of trash, or something fell ontop of him, caving him in and trapping him. But, upon inspection, he could tell that there was no sand under his tentacles, but more of that weird, squishy flesh that was on all sides of him. The octopi let out a small whimper as he pressed against the walls, feeling that every now and then, they were shifting. Where was he? Had he been eaten? Was he now in a whale's mouth? Nah, that would be silly, besides, he would have seen, or at least heard it coming for him. He continued to push and prod at the squishy substance, tentacles wiggling into the small cracks that were in the flesh like walls, trying to pry them apart but with no success. They didn't even budge! Now, John was starting to completely panic. Maybe it was a human, that had captured him, and was ready to bring him to the surface for him to suffocate! Or maybe he would end up in a stupid fish tank, and be a pet for them...god, how humiliating! The small octopi allowed his rage to fuel his attempts to free himself, biting at the flesh with his tiny, but needle sharp teeth, the taste of something tinny, something salty faintly on his tongue. Blood. Red, Savage, Beastly blood. The thing carrying him was alive, that confirmed it, and only caused John to panic even more now. But then again, it was alive... it must speak! Pausing his struggles for just a moment, John took a deep breath of water, closing his eyes. 

"Hello?!" he shouted, knowing that, since he was pretty small, his voice was as well, easy to be forgotten in the currents of the black, unruling sea. "Please! let me go!" The octopi cried again, leaning against the walls as he felt them shift a little. A glimmer of hope filled his eyes as he began to think that this was all just a mistake, that he was picked by accident, mistaken for a mollusk, or sea snail. But instead, the walls seemed to constrict and shrink, forcing John to curl up a little with a small squeak. No. This was not a mistake. This, was on purpose. Now, John began to think about what /really/ had gotten him, and the dark reality of his situation. He was being kidnapped, for reasons that only could point in the direction of becoming food. No, no he was too young to die, he hadn't even reached his full size yet! A renewed strength ran through him as he thrashed about in the walls, biting at anything he could, tentacles pushing and punching the flesh as he growled like some kind of maniac. In fact, John was so angry, that he didn't even feel the constricting force of whatever had him in it's grip, slowly squeezing him until he found that it was too late, and within minutes, he had been knocked out cold.

\--Sherlocks POV---

It had been at least 3 days...no, a week, at least, that Sherlock had eaten last. This was not something out of the ordinary that happened to the merman of 20 years. Born with high intelligence and extreme curiosity for everything that he got his hands on, it was no doubt that he would forget simple things like eating, sleeping, and getting away from humans until he was almost hooked on a fishing line. Simple things that every merman and mermaid knew. The merman was born into royalty, meaning that he was waited on hand and tail, served only the finest dishes when he was younger, and treated like he was the god of the sea, when he was only just a little child, or, guppy at the time. He was born as a brother to his older sibling, Mycroft, who would likely take over their fathers time on the throne, leaving Sherlock with defeated 'hopes' of ever becoming king,well, that's what Mycroft thought. In reality, Sherlock didn't give a rat's ass about the throne, he just wanted to explore all of his life, live dangerously, discover the lost, the unknown. Who would ever want to sit in the same place in the vast, wild ocean all of their lives? Some fatty named Mycroft, that's who. It came to no ones surprise when one day, Sherlock didn't return home from the outside of their kingdom, sure, it worried the Holmes', and even caused a search crew to go out to the ocean, into the depths, onto the surface. But, when none returned, it was clear that their son too, was gone. It was never discovered how the guards had perished, and to Sherlock's knowledge, he had no idea what out there had killed them. Leaving a dangerous, menacing killer, or killers, on the loose.

But right now, the merman just didn't care about any of that. Right now, he only cared about two things. What this little creature he had found on the sea floor /was/, and how he would prepare it for dinner. Surely, he would find another one and be able to study that, but he had no time to study this one, he was on the verge of starving. The merman gave a small, deep chuckle as he felt its, hands..? No, tentacles, press against his hands, looking for a way out, trying to pry away his fingers. And, for a moment, he could have sworn he heard a little bit of a buzzing, a peeping within them, but that was quickly cleared out of his mind When he felt the something nip in his hands. The little brat! he tightened his hands a little, a warning constricting until it stopped. And when it started once more, he did it again, and it ceased for the whole time. Annoying it was, as the merman saw a small trail of red seep out of his cupped hands, the little thing had drawn blood! At least it had given a fight, though, meaning that it was somewhat intelligent, it had understood that it was being taken, and it had begun to fight.. other things such as clams, snails, and small fish, would just sit there and accept their fate, or at the most, bump into his hands mindlessly over and over again, at the same spot. But... Sherlock could tell a couple things about this creature already. The first, being that it was somewhat intelligent, and the next was that it was Cute. He could tell during the few seconds he had spotted it during his hunt where he was looking for fresh clams to open up and eat, he could tell it had 8 little tentacles, so something from the ocotpus family, yet, it didn't have the top of one. Perhaps he was a hybrid as well, a hybrid not yet seen by his sapphire eyes. He flicked his tail, which was covered in emerald green and a myriad of blue, with impeccable golden flickers of color splattered on it, as he propelled himself back to a small cave in which he called, Home.


	3. White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Sherlock finally finding out just what John is, he debates whether or not he should keep him or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, ok Im really sorry everyone! I didnt think that this would get any reads, so I neglected to update it :c I'm sorry.

The cave was small on the outside, it seemed. Just a little crack between two large rocks, no one would ever think to go inside, thinking that it was just going to be a dead end or at most, a place where an eel lived. But how wrong they were, for once one slipped inside the crack, they would be greeted with something much more than they would ever predict. The cave was open, vast and spacious, it was deep, reaching down a whole ten feet before the bottom was seen, which it couldn't because at the moment, it was nebulous. No light ever shone inside the tiny crack, resulting in the pitch-black nightmare that no diver would ever go into, for fear that they would never find their way out, and eventually die a slow, breathless death. Sherlock, using his mind and his love for invention, was able to fix that. 

As the mermaid squeezed into the gap, his tail flicked a small switch at the side of the cave, which caused a circuit of tiny, looping Christmas lights to beam their light, trailing up and around, down and around, destroying the crepuscular darkness that had once dominated it. The lights were not perfect, of course not, with a couple un-lit, a couple flickering, a couple different colors. Artificial light was almost never seen inside the depths of the ocean, but thanks to Sherlock taking his time and going through shipwrecks, going through lost bodies, he was able to find a way to put together a way to light up his home. The wires, once exposed, had been encased in a thin plastic, waterproofing them easily. The lights blinked, dazzled, and shimmered against Sherlock's scales, repeating green, red, blue, white, green, red, blue white. They lit up the sides, leaving the middle a tone darker, allowing the lighting to highlight Sherlock's features impeccably. Around the cave, there was also a collection of human skulls, bones, clothing, and jewelry, lined up on ground in a circle, staring, always at Sherlock's attention, for he may not be the king of the mermaids, but he was the king of this cave, the king of the bones, the king of the lost and the collected. 

The merman allowed himself to sink to the bottom of his cave, where he had a couple of bird cages lined up, small bones on the bottom of them from past meals, going from tiny guppies, who had no chance of the mermaids sharp teeth, to large, pearly ones, battles lost by the larger predators. The king of the cave slowly opened his hands then, allowing the tiny octopi hybrid to finally come into view for the first time. He was breathing, slowly, meaning that he was just passed out and not dead. Tiny hands were still grabbing at his fingers weakly, along with a couple of the tentacles, but other than that, the hybrid seemed completely at peace with the water around him..that was, until Sherlock poked his stomach, and it caused the blue tentacled creature to jerk forwards, gasping and panting for water, showing off those equally cobalt eyes of his. Oh, beautiful. Sherlock actually began to contemplate eating this little thing or not. He tilted his head to the side, black curls bouncing in the water as he squinted his equally beautiful eyes at the creature, thinking to himself. He was focused on the tiny creature, fingers under his tentacles gently brushing against the appendages. So, he was an octopus hybrid for sure now. Did that mean he could camouflage? A quick cock of a brow when the octopi did just that proved that to be right. Sherlock couldn't help but smile as he saw the tiny blue tentacles slowly turn a tan to mimic the skin, but that was it, the little hybrid's human side of his body did not change with it, staying a bit darker tan than Sherlock's skin. Of course that didnt stop the octopi from trying to hide himself, putting his small hands over his eyes. The mermaid couldn't help but chuckle at that, tilting his head to side again in a very serpent like way, the lights on the walls lighting up his profile as he did, allowing the octopi to see the brightness of his smile, the sharpness of his teeth, which could easily pick apart bones. 

"Oh, come now.. Don't be so shy." Sherlock finally spoke, pressing a finger to the octopi's stomach with a grin, though all he got in response was a small whimper as the octopus was pushed over easily. "Do you not want to speak to your captor before your demise? Have last words? Anything?" He cooed, lifting his hand up a little to his face, seeing though adorable tiny eyes look through him in the cracks of fingers, full of fear, a hint of curiosity. Finally, with a couple of unsteady gasps, the octopus mumbled something under his breath, so quiet that Sherlock's pointed ears could not pick up on it. 

"What was that?" Sherlock egged on, using his pinkie to gently tear away the hands on the tiny hybrid's face. The hybrid scrunched up his face a little, looking down. It was at this point that the mermaid noticed a tiny cloud of black substance coming from his palm, and an equally tiny blush coming across the hybrid's face. Ah. He spooked him, and he inked. Adorable, but not exactly tasty. Sherlock frowned a little, waiting for the ink to disperse, before he spoke again. "You said something. What did you say?" He egged on again, which caused the hybrid to try to cover his face again, failing when Sherlock's finger held him back. When the octopi saw that there was no point in trying to hide, he finally took a very shaky and long breath, swallowing harshly before he finally opened his mouth to speak.   
"I-I don't want to die." Is what he said, fingers gripping at the mermaid's pinkie, as if he was looking for support by it. He was terribly embarrassed that he had inked himself, looking back down at his tentacles, which had begun to turn an equally rose- pink out of shame. He found himself unable to look up at the mermaid's eyes, which were beaming down on him light large headlights, blinding him, only getting some relief when they were turned away, or they blinked. "Please.. I..I'm still so young." He pleaded. 

"Oh, but that is what they all say, don't they?" Sherlock pipped up with a hum, smiling at the tight grip on his pinkie, the tentacles joining the tiny fingers as they wrapped around his appendage. No doubt this little thing was terrified. But, he should consider himself lucky, most of the time Sherlock didn't even give a chance to the others to speak or at least, try to talk their way out of a certain doom. He must be in a good mood. "It is rare that I see another hybrid.. let alone an octopus hybrid.." He continued, flicking his tail a little, fixing himself against the wall, the lights reflecting off of his impeccable scales. "Are there more of you?" He finally asked. This little guy, he had to admit, was quite adorable. It seemed that his tentacles changed not only according to the ground he was sitting on, but on his emotion. He wondered if they would turn a bright red when he was angry, or perhaps a shining yellow when he was happy.. So many questions, but so little time. He was still starving, stomach growling lowly as it reminded him that he needed to eat. 

John wanted to lie. He wanted to say 'yes, of course, just north of here', but he knew that if he did, the other would be able to tell, as he was always such a terrible liar. He wanted to curl up, to hide away from this monster of a being, but he was out in the open, and exposed. There was no other chance of him surviving, so he should probably die just being honest, right? "N-no.. Well.. Not..not that I know of. " He whimpered, eyes remaining to look down, starting to explore the mermaid. His fingers were surprisingly soft, unlike John's callused ones, and as his arm continued, small green scales lined his forearms all the way up to his shoulder, like tiny armor that could protect him if need be. His eyes then trailed to his neck, littered with a couple of scales here and there, the lights hitting them perfectly, and they traveled down to his clavicle, where they were a darker shade of blue, they reminded John of the ocean water when looked up from below, seeing the sun dancing off of the water. Then came the man's chest, bare, hairless, and for the most part, white, until it came to his hips, where they were swallowed up by an immense amount of scales, folding in on themselves, layers and layers of beautiful colors from blue to green, to white and even some hints of red, but they all combined to become an emerald color. John's inspection was cut short, when he heard the other start to speak again, eyes snapping back up attention. 

"A shame." Sherlock said with the clicking of a hungry tongue, eyes looking down at the octopus with a hint of a smile in them. "I would love to see more of you.. You are quite the specimen, nothing I have ever seen before, so little, yet with the intelligence of, I assume, a regular human." He hummed, ignoring his growling stomach as he sat up a little. The octopus was completely terrified, he could see the battle in his brain, screaming at him to lie, to tell Sherlock there was more of him, but the hybrid was an honest man, and would say what was right, even if he was killed for it.. And Sherlock found that he respected that. But not to the point where he would completely give him up and set him free. "Because of that...I will spare you. But do not think I am setting you free." He said, baritone voice growing low as the mermaid reached over, grabbing one of the many cages, opening it up. 

"Wh-what? No!" John whimpered, finding himself being pushed into a large cage, his tentacles clinging to the man's hand, tiny fingers digging into the others skin, but his efforts where in vain, as he was quickly slid off by another hand, pushing him fully into the cage. Once he was away from the hand, he instantly began to dart his way to the entrance, only being greeted with a harsh bar to the face, running straight into the cage as it was shut around him. "No.. please.." He whined, tentacles wrapping around the door, which was being locked by the mermaid. John let out a pitiful sob, reaching out from the bars into the open water, swishing them around freely for a moment or two, before he slowly allowed his tentacles to unwrap from the bars, his body drifting to the bottom, where thankfully, there was no bones from past meals. Curling up, the octopus hid his eyes again, and did what his instincts told him to do, not to fight, not to scream, not to swim around and try to break out, but to cry. And so he cried, small tears running down his face, morphing with the water around him, thinking that this was the end of him, the end of young John Watson. But to he honest, not even Sherlock knew if this was the end of him.. he might just keep him alive, if he has proved to be interesting enough, and if not, then John would join in with the bones of the dead at the bottom of the cave, where he would never be discovered.


	4. Nature is Unfair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John remembers his past when he was just a guppy. Then he finds out that he is much more than just a little octopus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gahh~ Sorry this is so short T-T The next one will be longer!

The cage was brass in color, with the texture of chipping metal as John ran his tentacles up and down the bars, looking for any kind of kink or weakness. As small as he was, John was quite strong, using 8 tentacles, and two arms to his advantage. He was strong enough to break open a clam while it was still alive, strong enough to swim away from predators, strong enough to battle his way through a parade of jellyfish, but it seemed as though these measly little bars were the winners in this battle. As John curled up and cried he began to think about all that went through in his life. Searching back into his memories to try to see just what went wrong. 

It started with a blinding light. He knew that, infact that seemed to be the only thing he knew that really happened. The feeling as though he was being burned, being blinded. Of course, it wasn't his fault. It was nature really, and nature was cruel. He had been born in a pod with over 30 brothers and sisters, all cracking from their eggs at different times... It just so happened that John was one of the first out. So, that meant, he was one of the first to survive the large family of shark hybrids coming their way. In an effort to save as many of his family members as he could, John had scooped up two eggs and had fled, running off of pure instinct, but what he didn't know, was that where he was heading was the surface of the water. And that is when he was blinded, when the sun reflected down onto the water in the perfect, yet imperfect position that landed right in his new, sensitive eyes, and he followed what his body told him to do, which was turn, shield his eyes, look away. Of course, that also meant letting go of the eggs that he was holding. He remembered watching the image of his mother get torn to pieces thanks to the sharks, and what made it worse was there they too, had little children, little guppies of their own, and they had no sympathy when they allowed their young to devour his brothers and sisters right in front of his eyes. 

He remembered how he swam away that day, how his body already knew, somehow, what to do, how to survive, what to eat, what to avoid. And he remembered the pain of looking back and seeing the empty shells of his fallen brothers and sisters, how he would never even learn their names. To be honest, John had no idea how he got his name. Did his mother give it to him before the attack? Or perhaps it was just out of chance that those words came out of his mouth when he was first asked for a name.. He wasn't sure. He would never be sure. All he knew was that right now, it didn't seem to matter as he was stuck in a cage, probably until this merman decided to kill him or something. A fate in which he had no control over.. Something that he knew wasn't fair, just like how all of his siblings were killed, like how they never even had a chance.. A small wave of rage crushed back John's fear, as he leaned against the little bars, looking over at the merman. 

"Hey!"  
He called out, tiny brows knotted together as he watched as Sherlock turned to him, fins dazzling in the light show of his cave. The merman cocked a brow, offering no words, but John knew he was listening.  
"You know..You're gonna be in big trouble! I'm gonna get real big, real fast!"  
John warned with a small smirk. It wasn't like he was bluffing. He was going to get big. As Big as his mum, maybe as big as his dad..which, well, he had never seen, but he had seen adult male octopi before, and they were huge! Apparently, the human's up above liked to call them something.. Something silly..  
"Oh? Is that so? And why is that..?"  
Sherlock pipped up as he swam over to him, using his sharp claw like fingers to poke John back into the cage, since his tiny tentacles were squishing their way through. He had to admit, it was kind of cute how John squirmed and his mouth scrunched up at that, like it was tickling him.  
"Well.. Because.. Because We grow, like, really really big! Humans call us something!"  
"An octopus?"  
"No! Not that.."  
Now, he had successfully gotten Sherlock's attention. He knew very little about the humans above, but he knew enough to know that they would classify John under the category of Octopodiformes, Octopoda, Octopus. What else would they call him? An octo-man? Oh, how scary.  
"I remember!"  
Came a voice, as Sherlock looked back at him with a small smile. Cute. John was going to make Sherlock believe that he was some beast, but really he was just another--  
"A Kraken! That's what they call us!"  
Sherlock froze, before he suddenly ducked his head and squinted at John, shaking his head and barking out a laugh. A kraken! Why, John was just a mere 4 inches in size.. No way would he ever be such a beast.. Besides, he didn't even look like a kraken! Krakens had sharp teeth, had large, thick tentacles, and had fins, John didn't have that..right?  
"See? Look. I'm just a little one right now!"  
John piped up as he turned his back to Sherlock' showing him the navy blue fins on his back and on his arms that flexed when he did. Sherlock suddenly began to grow a little bit curious.. A little bit interested. Kraken. Monster of the sea. Destroyer of ships, devourer of men.. Little John Watson. A kraken.  
"Amazing."  
Is what Sherlock could only say as he looked down at John, poking his fingers through the cage a little as he touched the fins. "I.. I've only seen a kraken once in my years.. and it saved my life. "He explained as he shook his head.  
"Really?"  
John asked with bursting enthusiasm, excited that Sherlock was finally starting to believe him. So happy that he wiggled around a little, tentacles going a touch bit pink out of happiness, and perhaps a blush. Now, instead of him marveling at the large merman, it was the other way around. Oh, the tables have turned!  
"Yes. It saved my...well, My families kingdom from a human ship. The human ship was about to dump some black liquid like substance into our land, but it seemed like out of no where this huge.. thing. Octopus, like monster, came out and destroyed it easily, taking everything down with it.. It was incredible."  
Sherlock cooed as he looked down at John, smiling at the blush of his tentacles. Now that he was looking at him..he was kind of, well, not kind of, but really cute. The way his body swished happily whenever something was going right, and the way his golden hair seemed to sway with him, bouncing up and down. What in the world was wrong with him, thinking that he could eat something like this?  
"You must be young then, if you are a kraken and this size."  
"Yes! I am only 20."  
"But I am only 23... your kind must age slower than ours." Sherlock deduced as he looked down at John, who was looking up at Sherlock with beaming, blue eyes, his tentacles now a happy, peachy looking yellow, like many of the sunsets that Sherlock had seen in his life, when he was suntanning on a rock, or racing against human boats. Like a strawberry that was the sun, and the golden rays that came from it where weaved into the sky. Beautiful. 

John looked down at himself with a small, nervous, shaky smile. Had he done it? Had he won the merman over? Was he finally safe? Well, there was only one way to find out, and John didnt know how else to put this, so he decided to be as straight forward as possible.  
"So... Are you still going to eat me..?" He asked  
"..What? huh? No. Of course not."  
Sherlock answered, as if it was obvious, but he made no movement to unlock John from the cage, but he did instead just lay down beside it, looking down at the cage, threading his fingers into it and every so often poking John's tentacle which would flinch from being tickled.  
"Promise?"  
Sherlock looked down at John, and was about to make a snide comment about how he didn't like to repeat himself, before he saw just how nervous he was, and he tried, well, as best as he could to offer a grin that was not as menacing with his sharp teeth, though it was kind of impossible to be honest.  
"I promise, John."


	5. Male?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock finds out if John is really what he says he is.. Male.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Warning! Some smut in this. Not too much, but from here on, it will get really really smutty <3 ))

For John, Sherlock's promise meant more than just his life being saved, it meant that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to convince the other to let him out of this bloody cage. The merman seemed so interested in his race, he wouldnt want John to run away, which John would do. He didnt trust this 'Sherlock'. Especially since he was currently being held in a cage that was filled up to three inches worth of bones and skulls from his past meals. He looked at Sherlock with his large blue eyes, looking and seeing the merman start to move stuff around, odd objects, some from the sea, and some obviously not. There was a small box that Sherlock was playing with, and when he twisted the handle of it, it seemed to magically open and reveal that there was stuff inside.   
"Closet."   
Sherlock said, having seemed to read John's mind, smiling over at him.  
"I use it to hold almost all of my things.. Much more organized than just leaving it on the floor."   
He hummed as he flicked his tail, gliding over to John with a large looking piece of glass on a stick. Weird. John blinked up at Sherlock, tentacles wrapping around themselves and rubbing together in a nervous habit of his. The friction distracted him from whatever was going on, it seemed. John didn't even seem to notice how his normally blue tentacles turned a sheepish pink when Sherlock grew near.  
"You don't need to worry."   
Sherlock hummed over him as he twiddled the glass between his fingers before he gently crouched down and with a swift movement of his hand, stuffed his claw into the lock of John's cage and twisted. The lock popped open, releasing air bubbles, which John watched with a small smile. He saw as the merman began to slowly open the cage door, at first, advancing on the chance to gain freedom, but as soon as he saw Sherlock's hand come towards him, be began to move backwards, squealing and reaching for the bars.   
"No! let me go!" 

He whined as he wrapped himself around the bars, feeling Sherlock's fingers hook around his stomach and start to pull, his tentacles now glowing red in irritation. John was tiny, but he was also quite strong, actually bending the bars on the cage before Sherlock finally spoke again.  
"John, I am not going to eat you, I just want to look at you."   
He explained as if it was obvious, rolling those emerald eyes of his that seemed to change whenever he wanted, just like John's tentacles. John, slowly realizing that what Sherlock had said was true (He did promise not to eat him after all...) slowly unraveled his tentacles from the bars and allowed Sherlock to drag him back out of the cage. They were now a deep blue, shy, it seemed as he curled away and into himself to try to appear smaller than his was. Sherlock began to look him over with the glass, which made his eye look oddly big, and made the octopus quite uncomfortable. Fingers gently prodded at his tentacles, then began to lift him up, and before he could cover himself, Sherlock was shamelessly looking at his 'cavity' so to speak..

"Hey!"   
John whined as he quickly covered himself up with tentacles and hands, looking at Sherlock with a pink face.   
"I have to make sure you were male."  
"Yeah, well you can trust me you know!"

John huffed as he wrapped his arms and tentacles around Sherlock's fingers, not wanting Sherlock to see anything more of his body. But, he really had no power when he saw the claws picking at the tiny fins on his back, or the gills on his neck, or the small scars that seemed to litter his chest. Odd. He was so young, but he already had what seemed to be battle wounds.  
"Battle wounds. You were attacked, perhaps when you were young. Obvious, a little octopus like you may seem defenseless, but you, you're different. You're more of a fight to the death instead of fight and lose with wounds. You fight to win, but, at your size, you would not. These are wounds you got as a guppy."   
Sherlock deduced as he ran the pad of his finger down John's back, which caused the octopus to lean away from it, a shiver running down his spine. The small octopus looked up at Sherlock, and blindly nodded. How did he know that? Interesting.. What else could he tell from him?  
"Don't look at me like that."  
Sherlock suddenly said, as if he was offended by what John didn't say.   
"What?"  
"That. That look right there. You are doubting my intelligence."  
"No- I'm jus-"  
"Curious to know how I did that? Deduction, simple." 

The merman said with a dismissing huff as he turned away from the cage, John still in his hand as began to pick through some of the things in his closet. It was littered with things from simple pieces of clothing, like hats or missing socks, to complete sets of diving gear, separated into neat little piles. He reached in, and took out a small white box, that was also locked. With another twist of his claw, the locked popped open and revealed a whole stack of sardines. Freshly killed. John found himself staring, licking his lips a little and instinctively reaching out for them. He may be 20, but he was still maturing, and therefor, still somewhat childlike. The grabbing of the hands in the water was a sign of that. Sherlock smiled, cocking a thin brow as he reached in and plucked one out, finally handing it to John. Now, he could see what he ate like. Sherlock watched as the tiny man gently set the sardine down on his palm, using his tentacles to gently, but quickly, de-scale the fish. Then, after that he placed it between his two largest tentacles, and squeezed, allowing most of the meat to squish through the sides of his tentacles, onto Sherlock palm. He let out a high pitched noise, one Sherlock categorized as glee, and then began to eat, chewing handfuls of the fish until all of the meat was gone, and all that was left was bone. His teeth were sharp it seemed. Almost like Sherlock's, but it was so hard to tell when he was so tiny, even his magnifying glass couldn't make out how sharp they were, or if he had multiple rows.. he would have to see when he was older, because, well, Sherlock had no plans of letting this little treasure of his go.

"Thank you."   
John mumbled out as he swished around on Sherlock's palm, tentacles glowing a soft yellow and green, the tips more yellow, and the base a darker emerald color, almost like Sherlock's eyes. The merman didn't reply as he continued to look over at John, starting to swim over to his bed, which was made out of soft seaweed and kelp, laying on it and propping his head up with a pillow, from probably a shipwreck. Gently, Sherlock began to move John hand to hand, cupping his palms under him safely, and John seemed quite content, the rocking motion starting to lull him into a tired rest.. But as soon as he was just about to close his eyes, his world was, literally, turned upside down. He found himself hanging by Sherlock's fingers, looking upside down at the merman who was staring at him blankly, before he slowly began to turn is his hand right side up.   
"What was that all about?"  
"I wanted to see how you would react.. how your tentacles would save you."  
"Oh.. I see."  
He didn't see. For him, it was just a natural response.. really, he wasn't that interesting. Not at this stage in his life anyway. He gave a sigh and a yawn, a soft bubble coming out from his throat and floating upwards quickly, before it popped in a small air hole up near the top of the cave. Sherlock smiled, and watched John, proceeding to rock him back and forth in his palms again, and yes, John had adapted and learned, clinging to his fingers in preparation for being turned upside down, but that didnt happen. Instead, Sherlock began to touch each tentacle on its own, stroking them gently, and watching as they reacted. They were all the same, mostly, each one just laying there flat, every now and then twitching, no threat, nothing new... But then there was one that was just a tad bit longer, and just a tad bit thicker than the rest, and when Sherlock touched it, John visibly flinched and curled up a little with a whine. At first, the merman began to deduce that maybe it was swollen from when he was grabbed, but that wouldnt make sense, he made sure to be gentle with him, and if it was, there would be some bruising. Gently, he tried again, stroking that tentacle, and the same thing happened as it flinched back, and John made a small noise.   
"Stop that."  
John mumbled, and Sherlock just watched as his cheeks turned a bright pink, tentacles shortly following after, shifting into that sunset pink that only the people of the sea were blessed to see. But, Sherlock being Sherlock, didn't stop, and again, touched it, keeping his eyes on John's face.

He watched as John at first showed signs of annoyance, but then his eyes slowly closed, and the pink in his cheeks grew, his small throat tensing as he swallowed. Ah. Pleasure. Wait. Pleasure? That must mean that...  
"Sherlock! Stop touching my cock."   
John suddenly blurted out as he took that tentacle into his hands and tried to peel it away from the over-curious merman, who just stared at him, a small smile on his face. Odd. So he didn't have what Sherlock had, which was a small area were his genitals were exposed when he was aroused, it was always out there, and obvious, it seemed. He refused to listen to John as he began to gently stroke it, no longer tugging on it, or doing anything that could hurt John, just watching him now. He always enjoyed learning about how each new creature reproduced anyway.   
John let out a small moan now, eyes closed as he felt the gentle touch of Sherlock stroking the tentacle, which was a fuller pink than the rest, and, with each movement, and each twitch of pleasure, it seemed to swell, and secrete a small amount of liquid.  
"Natural lube.. smart."  
Sherlock mumbled as he looked at the liquid, playing with it in his fingers, before he continued to stroke the other's cock, wondering just how good this felt for John, just how much satisfaction he was getting. What would his orgasm be like? Questions flooded Sherlock's mind, and, in an attempt to silence all of them, and still answer them, he slowly moved forward and parted his bow like lips, gently taking the other's member into his mouth. At first, the octopus had begun to struggle, having been so close to those dangerous, sharp teeth, which with just a small snap could chop him in half, but then he began to feel the sensation of Sherlock's tongue wrapping around the tentacle, removing any fluid that came from it, sucking on it, and, now he was upset that he was so tiny. If he wasnt so tiny, he could force that tentacle right down that pretty thin neck of his, and make him choke on it, just for a moment, just so he could get his little revenge....but that would have to wait. For now, he just clutched onto Sherlock's fingers and moaned and whimpered quietly. The rest of his tentacles wrapping around Sherlock's hand, in a way that would be useful if he was mating so the female, or male, wouldn't separate.   
"Sh---Sherlock..~! Ah..ah, oh..gods.." He whimpered as he closed his eyes tight, tight enough so that not even the bright lights of the cave could be seen through his lids, instead replaced with dirty thoughts and pleasured feelings that were rocking his body as Sherlock sucked and twirled that tongue of his around his tentacle. With each small flick, another wave of intense heat would wave over him, his own teeth biting into his lip, and, within just moments, he found himself coming into Sherlock's mouth. Sherlock didn't even flinch as he felt he liquid come into his mouth, land on his tongue. It was an adorable amount, but he still made note to taste it. Sweet. Sticky. Somewhat tangy. Not bad. He swished it around, before he swallowed it with a smile. 

"...And now I know for sure, that you are infact, male." He concluded with a smirk.


End file.
